“Portlandia” stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein will lend their voices to a next-season episode of “The Simpsons,” according to TV Line. Creator Matt Groening hails from Portland, leading some to believe this definitively means that Springfield is in Oregon (it’s not). But considering his involvement with the long-running series at this point (nothing at all, nothing at all…), the casting move has more to do with the “Simpsons” on-going quest to have every person ever on the show.
The duo will play part of a “cool” family that moves from Portland to Springfield and becomes the Simpsons’ new neighbors. Homer desperately tries to befriend them, but Marge is skeptical that being cool isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. (TV Line)
It’s getting tougher and tougher to NOT be able to connect our favorite current shows to “The Simpsons” in a single step (One Degree of Mmm…Bacon?…I’m sorry). “Breaking Bad”: check. “Mad Men”: check. “Boardwalk Empire”: check. “Game of Thrones”: check. “Parks and Recreation”: check. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”: check. “Louie”: check. “30 Rock”: check. “Community”: check. Anything Anthony Bourdain related: check.
BUT, off the top of my head, I can’t think of a connection between “The Simpsons” and “Justified,” “Homeland,” “Archer,” or “Eastbound and Down,” meaning they need to cast H. Jon Benjamin and Timothy Olyphant as two secret-agent detectives who go undercover as nuclear power plant employees to investigate whether Homer’s cocky new assistant, voiced by Danny McBride, is who he says he is…IN IRAQ. Practically writes itself.
